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Executive MBA Degree in Life Science & Health Care Management: A Program for the Challenges of the Healthcare Industry
February 04, 2025
New specialization of the Vienna Executive MBA
Few realms of science and research have seen as many revolutions in the recent past as the life sciences. Where this new discipline intersects with traditional health care management, a complex ecosystem with new players, novel dynamics, and hitherto unknown rules is unfolding. Jurgen Willems, public management expert at WU Vienna who developed the Executive MBA Life Science & Health Care Management together with staff of the WU Executive Academy, explains what it will take to find your way within this ecosystem and participate in shaping the healthcare services of the future.
Changes in the healthcare sector not only bring new challenges but also create exciting opportunities. To meet the complex demands of a dynamic ecosystem, professionals must be equipped with broad knowledge and interdisciplinary skills. The Executive MBA Degree in Life Science & Health Care Management at the WU Executive Academy provides you with the knowledge and tools you need to actively shape the future of healthcare management.
Life Sciences & Healthcare Management: Two Sides of the Same Coin
While healthcare management conventionally concerns medical services, i.e., patient care, life sciences cover a much broader field: exploring all aspects of life and health, they encompass a multitude of diverse disciplines, from medicine, biology, and biochemistry all the way to genetics. New medical procedures, instruments, and technologies such as self-diagnosis tools for smart phones are also subjects of the life sciences. The rapid development in this field is demonstrated by the industry’s surge in economic value, which is not limited to Austria but can be observed all over Europe.
Life Science: The Driving Force Behind the Future of Healthcare Management
This interplay of different forces characterizing the life sciences is the foundation on which a sustainable healthcare system for the future can be built, particularly one that meets austerity objectives. In addition to physicians and established pharmaceutical companies, new actors are entering the scene: start-ups, IT companies, venture capitalists, and consultants are all gaining in importance. At the same time, the political framework conditions must be adjusted.
Jurgen Willems, Professor for Public Management and Governance at WU Vienna, sees a strong pull towards hybrid forms of collaboration. “This creates a host of new opportunities in a complex environment in which hospitals, research facilities, IT professionals, and private-sector companies need to cooperate. The sky’s the limit – which, however, is the reason why it is so essential to know the rules of this industry, how different topics are interrelated, and where you can find business opportunities in all of that.”
Life Sciences & Health Care Management Combined – Your Degree at WU Executive Academy
“Against this backdrop we decided to develop the Life Science & Health Care Management MBA specialization, which will be open to enrolment from fall 2025,” says Jurgen Willems, the Academic Director of the new Executive MBA, which is taught exclusively in English. Willems is also the Academic Director of the German-language Executive MBA Health Care Management, which has provided education to experts in the field of hospital management for many years.
“The international specialization in life science & health care management comes exactly at the right moment as there are so many new developments in this field and there’s a soaring demand for an in-depth understanding of this ecosystem,” Jurgen Willems explains. “For a long time, these fields were viewed as completely distinct, or at least not as part of the same ecosystem.” More and more links are forming now, which helps implement innovations much more quickly and efficiently.
Harnessing Interdisciplinary Synergies in the MBA
The MBA degree Life Science & Health Care Management is suitable for people from all over the world and the most diverse backgrounds, such as physicians, researchers, IT specialists, and pharma or start-up employees. It’s also aligned to the needs of policymakers in ministries and think tanks.
Jurgen Willems
- Academic Director of the Executive MBA Life Science & Health Care Management
We pay close attention to the group set-up, which needs to be heterogeneous so that participants do not only encounter people from their own industry but also meet stakeholders from other fields in this ecosystem.
The objective is to bring together people in the MBA whose professional paths would otherwise not cross to give them the opportunity to jointly develop new solutions.The benefit of forming a network of diverse stakeholders operating within this ecosystem cannot be underestimated as the potential for creative and economic gains arising from such an interdisciplinary exchange is considerable. Jurgen Willems explains that it will be about introducing people to each other who would not have met otherwise. “One course will be devoted to collaboration within interdisciplinary teams to strengthen participants’ communication and cooperation skills.”
International Focus of the Executive MBA Degree in Life Science
Another USP of the Executive MBA specialization Life Science & Health Care Management is its international orientation. Taught in English, the program is suitable for participants from all over Europe and particularly the CEE countries. “Austria is increasingly turning into a hub for the life sciences,” Jurgen Willem says. And this new educational offer will make an important contribution to this development.
Connecting Macro and Micro Levels for Holistic Solutions in Healthcare Management
The Executive MBA Life Science & Health Care Management has many dimensions. While existing programs tend to zoom in on individual sectors, the new program seeks to blend research with practical training and governance. It combines top-down strategies (the macro level) with bottom-up initiatives (the micro level).
On the macro level, participants will be introduced to topics related to public health, governance, and policy. In other words: the larger framework conditions shaping the health care system. “It is about looking at the ecosystem from a bird’s-eye view and thinking about the political and economic circumstances that define it,” Jurgen Willem explains. On the micro level, students will explore how teams and organizations can effectively collaborate. Combining these perspectives will enable participants to build bridges within the industry: from politics to research to the implementation of ideas in the clinical practice of patient care.
Studying Life Science: Actively Shaping Change
Time is of the essence: innovative approaches must be found, evaluated, and adapted as technological advances, demographic changes, and more and more societal demands are all driving the pace of change.
“People’s expectations are growing while resources remain limited,” Jurgen Willems comments. This is why this program goes beyond simply training future managers. “Many people in this sector are driven by their intrinsic motivation to improve people’s health and benefit society,” he explains, which is reflected in the purpose-driven leadership style conveyed in the program. “If you are looking for the tools to shape the future of health care, here is where you’ll find them.”
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